Fight For Your Life
by gomenesigh
Summary: A young girl surrounded by darkness yearns to escape a terrible fate. Will she let herself be overwhelmed or will she accept help from something she has feared her entire life?
1. The Sacrifice

My eyes darted to the door at the top of the stairs as it burst open. My eyes instantly shut as light flooded across me and I instantly backed up into the surrounding darkness, crouching forward on my feet and hands. The chains around my wrists and ankles clanked around the cold ground as I moved.

After what seemed like several minutes, I heard the sound of footsteps on the stairs descending towards me. I blinked rapidly as I saw a man slowly come towards me. I tried backing up more, but I was already close to the far wall in the small basement.

Soon, the man hovered over me and I looked up, a slow creeping fear rising up as he grinned down at me. A foul odor radiated from him and he swayed in place. We stayed like several seconds before he grabbed my wrist and lifted me into the air.

I instantly tried to pull away, but was already dangling helplessly. He threw me down and I struggled not to cry out as pain erupted across my body. I kept my head down and curled up, but the man would not be deterred. This was to be expected. He came down here frequently to hurt me and I was already covered in bruises and scratches. He grabbed me by the hair and lifted me up again, forcing my face up to look at him. The odor was stronger close to his face, but I refused to look at him. He held me like that for several seconds before laying a blindfold over my eyes.

Fear instantly blossomed inside me and I started struggling to get away. This day would be far worse than I originally thought.

With a grunt, he pressed my body against the wall with his while he tied the blindfold around my head, instantly taking away my vision. I continued to struggle until he grabbed my hair and banged my head against the wall. I instantly became disoriented as pain shot through my head and I couldn't help but whimper. He untied my arms and legs and threw me over his shoulder. I lay unmoving as he went back up the stairs.

I knew our route well and was able to anticipate when he stopped. He knocked on a door and it soon opened.

Powerfully sweet aromas wafted over us as he walked into the room and set me down. Hands were instantly on me, pulling at the small slip I wore and pushing me further into the room until they lifted me and set me somewhere else.

The surface was cold underneath my feet and I couldn't help but shiver as I wrapped my arms around my now naked body.

The rare good memories I had shot through my head as I tried to ignore the gaggle of women around me. Few of the maids had taken pity on me and would occasionally visit, though only briefly. They would try to bring me some of the better food and books, lots of books. It was difficult to read in the dingy basement and hard to learn how to read, but I managed and it was worth it. They even brought me a stuffed animal: a tiger.

Hot water was poured over me and I gritted my teeth. Hands were soon pulling at me and brushes scraped against my body until every inch burned. They pulled at my hair, wrenched my mouth open to scrub it, and poured more of the water over me.

They quickly dried me off and dressed me. First a corset, tightening around my body until I could feel the strain in my bones and I could barely breathe. Each breath hurt as several other layers were fitted over me and finally a dress.

Several hands held onto me firmly and led me from one room to another.

An overwhelming array of scents assaulted me as soon as we entered and I struggled to not be pushed fart my into the room, but to no avail. More hands grabbed at me and forced me first down onto my knees and then flat onto my stomach. They held me down flat and pulled my dress up until a I felt a heat hover over the back of my left calf. After only a few seconds the heat pressed against my skin and I cried out in pain. I tried to writhe away from it, but the hands kept me in place. After what seemed like too long, the heat left and the pain pulsed across my leg. I didn't struggle as they flipped me over onto my back and tied my arms and legs, pulling them taught so I wouldn't be able to move.

The only noise for several moments was shuffling until it was completely silent.

Then, all at once, the voices began chanting in low slow voices. I instantly pulled at my restraints as fear threatened to overpower me. The voices grew louder and faster until I tried to cry out. My voice was choked into silence as a darkness pressed against my mind.

I struggled harder and could feel the restraints dig into my wrists and ankles, but would not come free. The darkness slowly grew stronger and started to envelop me, seeming to grow in strength as the chanting came to its climax.

The darkness soon washed my consciousness away until my body was an empty Ill for it to control. I had to wait helplessly as it slowly twisted my arms and legs and rotating my head to get used to its new home. I tried pushing back against this thing, but it barely noticed me. The new inhabitant of my body was a demon.

A demon who for some reason wanted, needed my body to fully exist in this world.

He seemed to pull experimentally at one of the restraints before a creeping smirk spread across my face and in one inhuman tug, pulled an arm free. Pain shot through my arm which seemed to irk the demon, but he soon ignored it and pulled free the rest of my limbs. I struggled to push against him again, but he was so strong, and I was nothing compared to him. He shakily stood up and tore the blindfold off.

The room's only light was candles that were scattered throughout the entire room, but it was light enough that he had to shield my eyes until they adjusted.

Men and women knelt in silence as they stared at me until a singe man lowered his hood and stepped forward. I instantly recognized him as my fat my, although I had only seen him a handful of times in my entire life. He opened his mouth to speak, but before he so much as uttered a noise, my hand was suddenly buried in his chest.

Blood welled up around my arm and started to stain my father's strange clothes. Blood trickled down my arm and he looked up to see my father's eyes open in shock, his mouth open as he struggled to speak, but soon the only thing that came out was a gurgling noise. He collapsed to the floor as the demon pulled my arm out and let the blood drip into the pool flowing from my father. My arm ached from moving at such an inhuman speed.

The silence in the room was deafening as the others looked on in horror. As soon as he looked up, the room erupted into chaos.

People scrambled over each other, all trying to get to the door. Candles and all manner of objects were knocked over in the rush to escape.

He spotted one woman cowering in the corner and made a bee line towards her with a wicked grin on my face. He stood over her and slowly reached my arms out, wrapping around the woman's neck as much as he could. He slowly began to squeeze as the woman clawed at my arms and squirmed in his grasp. The pain became a minor annoyance to him, but he would not let her go.

The woman's face twisted into a silent scream as he squeezed until she choked, until bones cracked, and until her body drooped back, lifeless.

He turned back to the rest of the people scrambling to escape and killed one after another until we were the only living thing in the room.

Bodies were scattered everywhere and blood spread over the entire floor. In the aftermath of his wreckage, the pain in my body screamed out. He suddenly seemed to lose control and I took the chance to push at him again.

This time he was unable to keep full control and we struggled back and forth until I was able to gain control again. He would not let me go completely, but I had enough power to seize my body back.

My eyes fluttered open and I realized I was curled up in a ball on the floor, half covered in blood. I quickly tore at my clothes until I was bare except for undergarments. I staggered in the blood and fell again, not realizing just how much I ached and how tired I was. I managed to pull myself up and pushed out of the room. My only thoughts were on escaping as I tried to shut out the demon, but he was still there, seeming to wait for something I knew not.

It was my first time seeing the house and it took me several minutes to find the stairs and make myself down them and out the front door that was already open. Being outside for the first time left me stunned as the sun overpowered my senses. I stood motionless as tears flooded down my face. I was finally able to see and looked around to see the end of the street with thick trees beyond on one side of me and more houses to the other side.

I heard distant shouts and cries from fart my in town and panicked. I dashed into the trees, ignoring as much pain as I could and ran until I couldn't breathe.

I forced myself to a stop as I gulped down air, my body shaking as I collapsed in a pile on the ground. The demon had seemed to be fading away from me, but he suddenly attacked in full force.

I struggled against him to maintain control and it was much easier this time. He seemed to be much weaker than before, though I wasn't sure why. I thrashed on the ground, arms swinging out and hitting whatever I could. It soon became apparent that pain made it harder for him to overcome me. It weakened me as well, but almost seemed to do twice the damage to him. He had soon been forced to retreat again and I staggered back to my feet.

The light was beginning to fade around me as I stumbled through the woods and it was soon difficult to see, both from the lack of light and from my failing vision. I felt a haze spread over my mind and fought to stay awake.

Suddenly, I crashed into a gate, collapsing again, this time unable to get back to my feet. I lay there, gasping for air and squinting, trying to see past the gate, but it was already too dark to see anything clear.

I let out a loud groan as pain pulsed all over my body, making it difficult to concentrate but keeping me awake.

The demon was suddenly back, trying to force himself into mind and over my body. I was so drained, I barely stood a chance against him even in his weakened state. With every last ounce of strength I could, I lifted my hand up and bit down as hard as I could.

Pain burst from the point of contact and a muffled scream drowned against my skin. Hot blood soon filled my mouth and made me gag, but the pain seemed to deter the demon. I kept biting, my free hand digging nails into my arm until the pain was almost too much.

I finally felt him pull away, from both annoyance… and something else. It almost seemed like fear, but I had no idea why he would be afraid and only made me more confused.

I could feel myself slipping into darkness when I noticed a figure coming towards me. It moved so silently, it wasn't until it was only a couple yards away that I noticed. It stopped over me and fear spread across me again. I stared up with wide eyes, but my body would not move. All was silent around us except for my strained panting. The figure seemed to wait and just a few minutes later, I felt myself slipping away again. My eyes fluttered closed as the figure bent down over me.


	2. A Man and a Boy

Everything from that point on seemed to be a blur. I was constantly in and out of consciousness, not even sure what was real and what wasn't. When I was asleep, 'he' appeared.

Cloaked in shadow, the demon appeared mostly human, as a tall man with short hair. Sometimes, he would warp into something sinister and almost monstrous, something I would never be able to unsee, and spoke in a language that made my body squirm with unease.

When I was awake, things were a bit better, but not by much. Pain covered my entire body and I felt dazed and delusional.

I remember screaming. Ever time memories of all those bodies and all that blood came flooding back, I screamed until my throat was raw and I couldn't breathe.

I thought I sometimes saw a man in the shadows of the room, but I couldn't be sure he was real. The demon seemed to have more trouble fighting over me when I was awake, but we were both in such weak states, nothing was certain.

Slowly, the demon seemed to lose control over me until it seemed like he was gone for good. I knew it wouldn't last, though.

He always came back.

I suddenly realized I was awake, but didn't know how long I had been awake for. I sat up and found myself clutching at a thick blanket twisted around me. I stared down at my hands, more noticeably the bandages wrapped around my left.

I finally looked around to find myself sitting in a bed and in a dark room. Small sharp beams of light poked through a curtained window and after sitting motionless for several minutes, curiosity eventually overcame me.

I shuffled to the edge of the bed and lowered myself to the floor where my legs buckled under me, unable to hold up my small frame. I sat there and looked around, at the simple white dress I was wearing. I had no idea where it came from, but was certain I hadn't been wearing it before. The bed towered over me and I pushed up onto my feet, moving to the window using my feet and hands.

I typically moved like this in the basement, since I didn't have much room to move around and the chains prevented me from standing up straight.

As I neared the window, I pushed at the curtain and more light poured into the room before the fabric settled back into place. I grimaced and slowly opened the curtain so I could get used to the bright light.

Once I had, I moved to the window and used the small inside ledge to pull myself up. The curtain settled around me, blocking me from the rest of the room as I stared outside.

My eyes grew wide and my mouth parted slightly as I beheld the sight in front of me. There was so much space and so much green, I couldn't believe it. I hadn't seen this much even in my books.

A sudden knock startled me and made me jump. I slipped back into the darkness of the room, but the light had clouded my vision and I sank back down into a crouch, a position that was kind of like a safety net.

As my vision cleared, I saw a man step into the room and stand on the far side of the room. My eyes widen and my pulse quickened as I looked at him.

He looked so much like 'him,' the demon from my nightmares.

I was instantly terrified. To afraid to move or breathe or think. I couldn't believe he was standing in front of me.

He took a step forwards and I cowered away, pressing against a wall and burying my head against my legs and grabbing fistfuls of hair on the top of my head. My body shook uncontrollably and I struggled to breathe.

I heard the door open and close, but stayed still for several moments before glancing up and seeing that he actually was gone.

I looked around and saw another door and bolted to it, still on all fours. I pulled herself up and pushed the door open, but it seemed to lead to a bathroom. I had only seen them in books, but I was almost certain that's what it was.

I didn't know what to do.

I knew he would be back, but I needed to get away before he did. I didn't want to trust going through the same door he came from and reluctantly went back to the window. I threw one side open and leaned over the small ledge, pressing my face to the window and looking out. I knew I wasn't on the first floor and my heart sank as I saw how far away the ground was.

I pulled myself onto the small ledge and stayed on my knees as my feet dangled over the side. I banged on the window, but it did not open. I ran my fingers over the surface of the small individual panels until I found an overlap. I looked up and down the strip until I saw a bulge towards the bottom. I unhooked it and pounded again, but still nothing. I carefully raised up onto my feet and pressed against the window.

My body shook as I went up on my toes, my fingers rubbing against the window until they came across another bulge. I quickly unhooked that as well and the window swung open. I squeaked and held onto the edge of it, trying to keep myself from falling out. As I regained my balance, I heard the door open and a voice call out,

"Wait!" My head whipped around and stared into the darkness and again took several moments to adjust to the darkness of the room. I clung to the window as I looked at a boy standing close to the door.

He looked clean and fancy, like some of the characters in my fantasy books.

I looked back out the window towards the ground as wind blew the dress and my hair around. I heard him tap something against the ground and looked back to see a cane in his hand.

Our eyes met for a moment and it was then that I noticed the man standing behind him in the doorway. My eyes opened wide and I got scared again, instinctively taking a small step back until I was at the outside ledge of the window. I turned away and braced myself.

"Wait! Just wait a minute, will you?" He called out to me again, but I ignored him.

This had to be the moment. If I didn't get out now, I didn't think I would ever be free. I took several deep breaths and steadied myself for the jump. The aching of my body was back and ached more at the prospect of what I was about to do, but I didn't have a choice.

Meanwhile, the boy sighed and made the tapping sound again. "Sebastian, get her down and close the window."

I shuddered and dared look back, only to find the man was already at the window, grabbing me and putting me on the ground.

As soon as he put me down, I stumbled back until I fell and kept going until I was wedged in the corner next to the bed. I curled up and wrapped my arms around myself as he closed the window and locked it back, but keeping the curtains open.

He disappeared from view without even a glance in my direction. I heard more footsteps and the boy came into view.

He wore a complicated looking dark green suit with a tall hat and shoes. He wore an eye patch over his right eye, which I thought was strange.

He also seemed to not want to look at me either. He cleared his throat again and side.

"Look. Sebastian is not going to hurt you. He is not going to do anything unless I say so. Now, we have a lot to discuss. We have a dress and shoes for you to put on and Sebastian will be here for anything you need. He will bring you to my study when you are more…. presentable." He stood for a moment longer before departing.

I did not move as I heard shuffling and was able to see enough around the bed to see this Sebastian open a large wardrobe and pull out a dress and a pair of shoes. He disappeared from my view, but I still did not move.

I stayed curled up and my fingers pulled at my hair. It was pooled on the ground around me and I moved it around me until it was almost like my own curtain. I stayed without moving for several more minutes and finally inwardly groaned.

I really had no choice.

I wouldn't be able to escape with him here, if he still was. I crawled to the bed and pulled myself up. The bed came up past my waist and I used it as support to walk to the edge of it.

Sure enough, he stood motionless at the door with a candle holder in one hand. I hadn't seen it before and wondered where it came from. I stood motionless for several moments as I tried to steady my body.

I clutched onto the frame of the bed before pushing away and half stumbling to the wardrobe, clutching onto it as soon as I could, and leaning on it for support. I looked around and found the dress laid out on a small desk looking piece, but it had a large circular mirror attached to it.

I shuffled over to it, avoiding the mirror and looked down at the dress. It was simple and dark blue, but when I ran my fingers over it, it was softer than anything I had ever felt.

I looked back at Sebastian before grabbing it and going into the bathroom, shutting the door behind me. I walked to the large tub in the middle and draped it over the side before collapsing to the floor.

I never spent a lot of time walking and it was exhausting just to go this few feet. I huffed softly and played with the edge of the new dress. The floor was cold under me and I soon began to shiver.

I knew I was stalling, but I didn't want this to be happening. I didn't even fully understand what was actually happening. I sighed and pulled off the white dress.

I stared at my body for several moments, almost appalled at what I saw. I was much more battered than I thought. I was covered with scratches and bruises. There were several bandages all over me including my leg and ankles. I stood in shock for a little longer before pulling on the blue one.

It hung straight on me, but there were some kind of fasteners in the back that I couldn't reach. It was already too big and I could barely keep it on me as I stood up. I pulled out my hair and let it hang down my back. It was black and hung just to the top of my legs.

I slowly moved back to the bedroom and was careful to keep hold of the dress.

I walked past the desk, careful not to look in the mirror and ignored the shoes, walking to the other door and stopping a couple yards from it and Sebastian.

I looked up at him for a moment and we locked eyes, but the red hue of his made me look away. I stood motionless, looking down at the ground, and pulling the dress back up my shoulders when it slid down.

"I would be most honored to help fasten your dress so it does not keep falling, Miss." He took a half step forward and I instantly moved back, almost tripping over myself.

He stopped and I glanced up at him, but kept my head bowed. He bowed and held it for a moment before straightening back up. "My apologies, Miss. If you are ready, I will take you to the study now."

I hesitated, but finally nodded and followed after him when he opened the door and left.

He had a brisk pace and it was difficult for me to keep up, but I was able to manage. The hallway was dark except for the candles in his hand and it was difficult to keep track of where we were going. He suddenly stopped in front of a door and knocked, waiting to open it until he was acknowledged by the boy.

He opened it and stepped to the side and bowed, unmoving. I stayed in place until I realized he wasn't going to move and darted past him into the room, immediately turning around to keep him in my sight.

Once I had entered, he followed behind me and closed the door, walking past me, and moving to stand behind the boy who was seated behind a large desk.

He had several pieces of paper in one hand and stared at them with intensity, not looking up at me at all.

"Well, come sit down." He suddenly said, but I stayed still and instead looked around the room.

I had never seen so much… stuff before. There were bookshelves as high as the ceiling packed with books of every size and color. The desk he sat at was also scattered with more paper and various small objects.

I noticed he had set the papers and had his hands clasped together on the desk, waiting patiently. I slowly moved to the two chairs in front of his desk and crawled into one, staying on my feet and curling up with my arms wrapped around my knees. He arched a brow at me but said nothing for several moments. He picked up a paper and held it out as he looked at me.

"Now, I am well aware of what happened at the Holcombe estate several days ago and have assured the Queen that the matter will be handled, but I need to hear from you exactly what happened."

 **So, I've played with this story before, but I never seem to get too far with it. I hope to get pretty far with it this time. Let me know what you guys think!**


End file.
